Tax increase would fund county priorities

Mason Supervisor Penny Gross told the audience at the Budget Town Hall she has signs to give out to residents concerned about speeding on neighborhood streets. Contact her office if you want a sign.

At the Mason District Budget Town Hall March 12, Fairfax County Executive Bryan Hill and Chief Financial Officer Joe Mondoro explained why a tax increase is necessary to fund the county’s priorities.

The FY 2021 advertised budget, presented to the Board of Supervisors by Hill, would increase the real estate tax rate by 3 cents – from the current rate of $1.15 per $100 of assessed value to $1.18.

That would generate $159 million in revenue, which Hill said would help fund such priorities as affordable housing, police body cameras, and early childhood education.

In a separate action, 2020 real estate assessments for homeowners rose an average of 2.65 percent countywide over last year. In Mason District, the average assessment is up 3.57 percent.


Related story: Proposed budget would raise real estate taxes and impose a new admissions tax

The impact of the increased real estate tax and higher assessments is $346 for the average homeowner, Mondoro says.

“No one is average,” he stressed, as changes in individual assessments varied widely depending on home sales in the neighborhood, home improvements, and other factors.

Several people at the Budget Town Hall complained about the increasing tax burden on residents. One person said the combination of the increased tax rate and higher assessments is “really punishing.”

That tax is needed, Mondoro says, because state law restricts counties’ ability to raise revenues in other ways. That may change, this year, however, as the General Assembly is considering legislation to equalize taxing authority among cities and counties.

The Board of Supervisors isn’t likely to approve the full 3-cent increase, Gross noted. “I was not happy with that. As we go through this exercise, there will be some changes to the budget,” she said. “I don’t anticipate it will be the full 3 percent.”

Related story: Real estate assessments rise 2.65 percent

The advertised budget would also impose a new 4 percent admissions tax on movie, concert, and theater tickets.

Under the proposal for the 3-cent real estate tax increase, 1 cent would generate $27 million to increase the county’s supply of affordable housing. The rest would be split among the general county budget and Fairfax County Public Schools.

The county’s goal is to provide 15,000 additional affordable housing units over the next 15 years. That includes housing targeted to families, seniors, and workers who can’t afford market-rate housing but don’t qualify for subsidies.

Reaching that goal will require new developments with various combinations of private investments, federal tax credits, county land, and county funding.

Related story: Panel urges greater investment in affordable housing

The county’s response to the coronavirus pandemic will definitely have an impact on the budget, but it’s too early to know how big that impact will be, Mondoro said.

The Board of Supervisors will have an opportunity to look at adjustments to the current budget on March 24 to address immediate needs, and will probably consider hiring additional Health Department staff, he said.

One good thing about having so much reliance on property taxes, he noted, is that the revenue available for the current year is already set, and the county doesn’t have to rely as much on sales taxes, which are likely to decline as the outbreak is discouraging travel, dining, and entertainment spending. The county’s costs will depend on how much federal funding it will get to help deal with the outbreak.

Public education is the Board of Supervisors’ number-one priority in the budget, said Mason Supervisor Penny Gross. The advertised budget for FY 2021 calls for $85.5 million for Fairfax County Public Schools, for a total combined operating and capital budget of $2.4 billion.

The amount of funds proposed for FCPS is just $4 million short of the amount requested by Superintendent Scott Brabrand, but Mondoro predicts that gap will be closed by increased state funding.

The budget is organized according to the nine priority areas identified in the county’s draft strategic plan.

The “cultural and recreational opportunities” component of the budget includes funding to extend library hours.

Funding under the “safety and security” priority includes body-worn cameras for all police officers, recruitment and training for officers to staff a new South County police station, and a new fire station in Tysons.

The new police officers would be placed in existing police stations, so they will be ready when the new station opens in a couple of years, Mondoro said. When that happens, the boundaries of all police districts will be redrawn.

The draft strategic plan was developed with input from 12 community engagement meetings in 2019.

Too few people participated in those meetings, Hill said. “We need to hear what the community wants.”

He urged the public to get involved in the next round of meetings on the strategic plan, including one on April 2 at the James Lee Community Center in Mason District.

The Board of Supervisors will hold public hearings on the budget April 14-16. People can sign up to speak here.